Somehow, I haven't heard a single Gaslight Anthem album. They seem right down my alley so I'm not sure how it happened, but nonetheless I need to start somewhere. Should I download their newest release, or start with '59 Sound? I was also considering just downloading their 5 or 6 best songs to get a taste since I have iTunes store credit that I need to use. What should I do?

The '59 Sound is their best album so you might as well because it only goes downhill from there. The album imo is a 4/5

I gave their latest album Handwritten a 3.5/5 which is contrary to the average rating that the members of the sputnikmusic gaslight anthem circlejerk userbase gave it so my opinion may be quite different from what you are going to get from others.

"I gave their latest album Handwritten a 3.5/5 which is contrary to the average rating that the members of the sputnikmusic gaslight anthem circlejerk userbase gave it so my opinion may be quite different from what you are going to get from others."

um you can't really go wrong I envision you liking/loving everything they've released; and because that's the case I highly recommend going chronologically starting with either '59 Sound or starting with Sink Or Swim (with the knowledge that their later albums get betta).

If I start with an album it's either going to be the 59 Sound (as to start with their best) or Handwritten (to stay current with 2012 releases). Any thoughts on DL'ing their best songs using iTunes store cred? Or are they an "album" band?

I mean yeah they do make very cohesive solid albums I didn't mean it in a bad way at all. I just meant it in the way Sowing is looking for, I think, like: oh hey it's cool if I throw on "45" quick to get a good gist of the band instead of listening to a whole album and devouring it like I would that 2-hour Swans album.